Reds Designate Steve Selsky For Assignment

The Reds have designated outfielder Steve Selsky for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for the acquisitions of right-handers Luis Castillo and Austin Brice from the Marlins as part of today’s Dan Straily trade, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Selsky, 27, made his Major League debut with the 2016 Reds and picked up 54 plate appearances in 24 games, batting an impressive .314/.340/.471 with a pair of home runs along the way. Selsky’s pop has been a bit more limited in a larger sample of work at Triple-A, however, as the former 33rd-rounder has compiled a .283/.369/.425 batting line in 191 games with Cincinnati’s affiliate in Louisville.

The right-handed-hitting Selsky has never rated among Cincinnati’s top-ranked prospects, but he has a history of producing strong batting average and on-base percentage marks in his minor league career. Since being drafted back in 2011, Selsky is a .295/.379/.459 hitter. He has more than 1000 minor league innings of experience in both outfield corners and at first base, in addition to some brief work in center field (136 total innings).

Shaffer by far. Has no ability to hit major league pitching. I watched him all year. Almost falls down on every swing. Ball could bounce in the grass and he would swing so hard he’s looking at the 4th deck down the 3rd base line

Go read one of the articles this offseason on Arismendy Alcantara. One is by Redleg Nation and I think the other was Red Reporter. Alcantara isn’t going anywhere, and will likely be the utility backup this year for the Reds.

How would Selsky make a team better? He’s a defensively limited 1b/corner outfielder with no power or baserunning value. His .314 average for the Reds looks flashy, but it comes with a totally unsustainable .519 BIBIP – total small sample size fluke.

Best case scenario Selsky is a ~.270 hitting pinch hitter with an OBP around ~.350… again, with no power or baserunning value. His age does him no favors.

I suspect Selsky will clear waivers, and I’m surprised he made it on the 40 man roster this long. I thought it’d come down to Selsky and LHP Wandy Peralta.

I’d definitely stick with younger RIchie Shaffer over Selsky, especially after the success of Adam Duvall. And versatile Arismendy Alcantara is an easy decision to leave on the roster – he has far more upside than Selsky.

I promise you Shaffer will be nothing. This young man has good numbers in the minors too. Last time I checked a guy who can hit .270 isn’t so bad to have sitting on the bench to use. When Shaffer can hit about .180 and maybe hit a homerun once ever 2 years

Chances are Shaffer, Alcantra, and Selsky are all AAAA players. So that’s probably how they view all three. In the end it really doesn’t matter because all three will give time to Peraza and Winker. Usually a corner LF/1B doesn’t provide much value as those with positional flexibility to a rebuilding team with a guy like Votto. So I’m not really sure how that says anything about Cincinnati.

And btw an unsubstantial babip mixed with a .25 difference between average and obp and a 40% K rate screams AAAA. It also reminds you how hollow BA can be at times especially in a small sample size. Mix that with a defensive liability it’s hard to keep a guy on the 40 man.

I heard the same things about Duvall, Schebler, Hamilton, and Peraza last winter. Unfortunately I don’t accept your promise, and look forward to seeing how Shaffer does. It’s definitely a big make-or-break year for him.

These guys your arguing about are not going to be impact players on any team, chill. Duvall, Hamilton, Schebler, Winker are going to get all the playing time. Alcantara will probably be the 5th outfielder, or someone else who may be out of options that would be worth taking a flyer on.

This is a bad decision. No reason Selsky should have been removed. Definitely could and should be our 4th outfielder. The man can hit. No reason he should be removed before someone like Sal Romano, Phillips Ervin, Arismendy Alcantara, Richie Shaffer.

So get rid of prospects that are rated a lot higher Than him just bc you like him? He’s never proved anything either except a small sample size of no power or speed. And it’s not like they cut him lol they took him off the 40 man..Duvall, Schebler, Hamilton, Winker, and Alcantara.. where exactly was this “beast” Selsky supposed to be playing???